The Hassan district administration has invited Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar to the Hasanamba Temple festival, where officials are preparing separate access arrangements for VIPs and the general public during the November 1-6 period when the chief minister is expected to visit.
The festival will be held from October 29 to November 11. A delegation led by district minister KM Shivalingegowda handed over the invitation to Shivakumar. During the meeting, the chief minister said he would visit the temple between November 1 and 6 and instructed ministers and officials to ensure that devotees did not face inconvenience.
The administration is planning the event on a larger scale this year, with arrangements described as being similar to those made for the Mysuru Dasara celebrations. Around 25 lakh devotees visited the temple during last year’s festival, making crowd movement and darshan access central to the preparations for this year’s event.
The administration has made arrangements for approximately 3,500 VIPs. Invitations have also been extended to the deputy chief minister and other ministers. To manage access at the temple, VIP darshan will be permitted only between 10.30am and 12.30pm, while the remaining hours will be reserved for the general public, Shivalingegowda said.
Devotees seeking quicker access will continue to be able to use the special darshan ticket priced at Rs 1,000. The separate scheduling of VIP and public darshan is intended to prevent the two streams from disrupting each other during the festival period.
The access plan follows remarks by Shivalingegowda on reports that three ministers were stopped by police during the Nandi Dhwaja puja at Mysuru Dasara. He said the police action was wrong and assured that such incidents would not be allowed during the Hasanamba festival. He added that a special system had been designed to manage VIP and public darshan separately.
The meeting was attended by Hassan MP Shreyas M Patel, deputy commissioner KS Latha Kumari, superintendent of police Shubhanwita, zilla panchayat chief executive officer Shubha Shukla and additional deputy commissioner Krishnamurthy. Their participation reflects the involvement of the district administration, police and rural local-government machinery in coordinating the festival arrangements.
With the festival scheduled to run for two weeks and attendance expected to remain high, the announced plan places time-based access controls and separate arrangements at the centre of crowd management. The district administration’s next operational milestone will be the opening of the festival on October 29, followed by the chief minister’s expected visit between November 1 and 6.
